Log In | Register
Skip to main content
Topic: Don't Be Stupid, Like Us (Read 65 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Don't Be Stupid, Like Us
Yahoo Message Number: 159711
Well, Team, we learned a great lesson the other day and maybe you won't have to. As we're getting ready to leave our RV site to head home (will take us 5-6 weeks as we wander a lot), we had the rude surprise of a dead battery! We'd been in place for a month and all seemed well, but the 9-year old (!!!) battery just gave up.

After a reference to a garage and a Coach-Net tow to same, we were on our way. I will tell you, it was very sad and embarrassing to see our lovely "Wild Thing" under tow. After all, we appeared to be one of maybe 2 LDs in all of Apache Junction AZ, so we stood out.

Point of all of this...when did you last change your truck battery? Just sayin'....

TinaP 2006 MB "Wild Thing" LD 2967 NELD 59

Leaving Las Cruces NM today...heading east across Texas
2006 MB
Re: Don't Be Stupid, Like Us
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 159720
Too late! I filed the pic of our LD being towed out of the campground in Feb. Since you shared. .... ahem, we had a defective cell in our 6 mos old battery. Ok no sweat, it was under warranty and we went to a ford dealership and replaced it. Art put it in place. It didn't work. Att went to jump it. I was alarmed by the spiral of smoke that came out of the black post when the clamp went on.
After a strong burst of oomph from the toad, it started. Turned off the engine then on again, it didn't re-start. Rinse and repeat.
So we got the rig running and decided to drive around for a while. The rig hopscotched like we were driving with the brake on, all the warning lights (ok we only had the abs light but our personal lights lit up) were on. We called ford and AAA and had it towed.
You had to see it. Think the high way thru hell tow truck. The guy had just bought it. No kidding 3 times longer than our LD and shiny red with LOTS of chrome(it was Texas). The whole campsite turned up to see the show
Re: Don't Be Stupid, Like Us
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 159725
Just a heads up on the subject of Coach-Net and battery failure. When our battery failed at a critical moment, we asked Coach-Net for a service call for our trusted local mobile repair service to bring us a new battery. We knew ours was a goner because we had already jumped it in place, run it for quite a while, but it died again almost immediately.

Coach-Net would NOT authorize this call. Yes, they would expend the bucks to tow us somewhere to get a new battery, but not pay for a much-lesser cost service call to get us going by having the repairman bring us a battery (at our expense, of course) and install it. And, yes, I went up the chain of command for three levels. Not everyone was polite. I was astounded - and deeply disappointed in Coach-Net. We have the second level of service - not just basic - and have called upon them only a couple of times in about twenty years or so of paying for the service.

I have noticed that recently my mailbox is full of spam from them touting a new repair service of some sort (extra cost, of course), but I am so annoyed with them, that I admit that I haven't read the adverts. Maybe it is something good; but I am now so skeptical of their ethics that I am (GASP) thinking of changing services after all these years.

When I pointed out to the last "higher-up" that we had been long-time customers with almost no usage, his comment was tantamount to "yeah, so what".

Just a disappointed customer . . .

Virtual hugs,

Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: Don't Be Stupid, Like Us
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 159729
This bit of trouble has reminded me that I need to put our jumper cables in the LD. It was one of those things that I seem to remember while driving down the road and then promptly forgetting after I got home. So the OP misfortunate has a silver lining at least with us.

Ed & Margee - '09 MB Fort Worth
Re: Don't Be Stupid, Like Us
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 159733
We've had a dead engine battery a couple of times. That's why I carry a long set of jumper cables that reach from the house batteries to the engine battery. I've used it twice and it works like a charm. Only thing better would be to wire a switch across the isolator, as some have done, so I wouldn't even need to haul out the cables.

I'm wondering - did the service person who responded try to jump the battery before hauling you away?

WxToad NE-13

Also on way home to New England after winter on the road @ Observation Knob County Park, Bristol, TN

www.wxxtoad.com www.ultimatecampgrounds.com

Posted by:  cpratt04097 Date: Wed Apr 6, 2016 6:53 am ((PDT))

Well, Team, we learned a great lesson the other day and maybe you won't have to. As we're getting ready to leave our RV site to head home (will take us 5-6 weeks as we wander a lot), we had the rude surprise of a dead battery! After a reference to a garage and a Coach-Net tow to same, we were on our way. TinaP2006 MB "Wild Thing"
Re: Don't Be Stupid, Like Us
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 159760
No, the tow driver did not offer to jump us, but I had made it clear to the Coach-Net operator that it had been jumped a couple of times, but that the battery would not hold the charge.

The end of March must be a busy time in the Phoenix area for troubled RVs as the original ETA of a tow was 3 hours! Coach-Net worked that hard and got another tow truck to us within 1.5 hours...and that baby could have towed the Queen Mary. We were clearly not his first tow!

As we have observed a number of times, there is not much more interesting to a bunch of older RV guys than someone's rig having "difficulty." They gather around, offer opinions and suggestions and always help of some kind.
This was true in our case...a neighbor in a travel trailer came over with his portable battery jump gizmo and jumped us. When that was clearly not going to help, he went back to his trailer and got his receipt from a local garage/service center that he had been satisfied with and called the service manager while standing next to me, and put me on his phone.

I spoke with the service manager and he was able to get us into service as soon as we arrived via tow truck.

As well, a neighbor in a park model within line of sight ambled over and peered in and offered his two cents...and then went home and called his very very good friend who is a master mechanic and got his opinion regarding symptoms and cause...said mechanic being in Minnesota!

All of this from folks we had spent a month alongside and had never had a word with...waves, but no words!

Now sitting, at ease, in Fort Stockton, TX. This year we have found it necessary to get reservations for overnights on the eastward trek. Our first night in Las Cruces on this leg found the RV park totally sold out with one big boy parked in the check-lanes boondocking! We've spent a lot of time over the years at that park and never seen it sold out.

Here in Fort Stockton one park was sold out before 10 this a.m. and this current park is filling fast...10 have pulled in behind us in less than an hour!

Gotta go call our next stop!

TinaP 2006 MB "Wild Thing"
2006 MB
 
Don't Be Stupid, Like Us
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 159950
Judie, thanks for the heads-up on Coach Net. We started them this year, had one tow and were satisfied. But this is a reminder that common sense and loyalty are not part of the agreement.
Paul
'92 Mid Bath